The Earth Is A Dark Place
by Shadow Of Earthclan
Summary: A young Treecko and her Munchlax friend living in Mystery Jungle are subjected to the whims of a Weavile outlaw, until the high-ranking exploration team they idolize arrives on a mission.
1. Chapter 1

Light barely filtering through the dense foliage prompted Treecko awake. She wished she could just pull the leaves of her bedding over her head as she'd been able to do before, but she knew that if the sun didn't get her up, then Roserade's poison sting would. She hated Roserade. Even before Weavile came Roserade had rubbed her the wrong way. Now she was absolutely unbearable. It was only fitting that Weavile had taken advantage of her ambitious, bossy nature.

Treecko climbed out of the tree she'd lucky enough to find not yet occupied by the countless flocks of Spearow Weavile had under his command. Just the other day Treecko had learned only too well that the Spearow weren't too keen on the idea of sharing a tree. She ran hurriedly through the underbrush towards the massive cave deep in the heart of Mystery Jungle. As she ran through one of the countless clearings, she paused near a strange stone carved like a staircase. She briefly touched the oddly smooth side, wishing she could use it as the exploration teams did. It would make her life so much easier.

_I wonder if you'll ever come here,_ she thought, a picture forming in her mind. It was the image of another pokémon, a female Treecko like herself, only much bigger, older, and definitely much stronger. It was the one pokémon she looked up to, but had never ever met: Shadaqua of Team Earth. Innumerable rumors shrouded Shadaqua and Team Earth. The most common and probably most accurate of theses rumors was that Team Earth was a Master Rank exploration team and both Shadaqua and Cyndaquil, the joint leaders of Team Earth, were level 100. Other rumors, all of which Treecko couldn't help believing, simply told of the expeditions of Team Earth and the personal feats of Shadaqua herself. They told of how Shadaqua had once continued onward to fight for even those she'd never met, though she knew she would cease to exist. How she was willing to risk her own safety to defend a friend or a client. How she could take on a monster house, one of the most vicious parts of a dungeon, on her own and come through with hardly a scratch. _Maybe... Someday...I will meet you._

"Late! Late! Late! Late!" A flock of Spearow chirping frantically as they flew overhead jolted Treecko out of her daydream. She gasped when she realized how song she'd been standing there and ran full-tilt through the trees towards Weavile's cave. As part of the so-called "peace treaty" that had been established between Weavile and the citizens of Mystery Jungle, Weavile required that any able-bodied pokémon serve him as an army. Anyone who failed to report or resisted found themselves on the receiving end of his icy wind, the very attack that had allowed him to bully his way in to Mystery Jungle in the first place. The fact that he was a level 60 while everyone else was level 45 or below helped, too. Treecko didn't slow down a bit when she reached the cave. Weavile's den, where everyone was meeting, was well into the cave. It wasn't all the way in to the back, though, because Weavile seemed to fear, or at least respect, the Mew who supposedly lived there. Treecko was starting to doubt that Mew really was back there. If Mew was the guardian of Mystery Jungle, then how come Weavile had been able to take over like this and make everyone his slaves?

"Hurry up, Treecko! They're almost starting!" a Munchlax whom everyone simply called Munch yelled as Treecko neared. As usual, Munch was scarfing apples. She begrudgingly handed one to Treecko as they ran together into the big main cavern. Treecko had rarely ever seen so many pokémon in one place. They took a seat in the back, careful to avoid Roserade's suspicious, scrutinizing gaze, just as Weavile was getting up to speak. He stood on a raised platform made naturally by the stone of the cave. Roserade stood at the foot of the platform, looking stuck-up as usual. Weavile cast an icy glare that burned with haughty superiority around the cave like only an ice/dark type could before addressing all who had gathered there.

"I have received word from the sentries that our presence here is now known", Weavile said, speaking in a menacing, slightly nasal voice. _By "our" you mean "your", right?_ Treecko thought, rolling her eyes. "In light of this, you will all be reassigned to new battle positions until further notice. Roserade and I have taken the liberty of posting the assignments over on the wall." Weavile motioned with his claws to the wall of the cave where dozens of pieces of paper now hung. "You will report to your new post immediately to receive further instruction. Dismissed."

Everyone got up and rushed over to the wall, not wanting to risk being called out for lagging. Amidst the chaos, Treecko glanced at Munch and when she saw the worry in her friend's eyes, she knew Munch was thinking the same thing she was: anywhere but a monster house. In a monster house, there was no excuse not to attack the object of their aggression head-on. At least if they were out on the regular floor they had a better chance of not running into whoever was trespassing. Neither Munch nor Treecko was even above level 10. If the intruder was a strong one, they would be doomed. If they were up against an exploration team, though, they could at least hope to be accepted into it. This, however, was looked down upon by the vast majority of the pokémon in Mystery Jungle, so if they did get stuck in a monster house, they might not be able to even ask.

Treecko scanned the lists on the wall. The name, level, and picture of each pokémon was listed, along where and how they would be positioned. Everything was alphabetized by species, sorted by level, then alphabetized again by individual name. There weren't all that many others of her species at the moment, so it didn't take long for Treecko to find herself on the list.

Species: Treecko

Level: 9

Name: Treecko

Location: 15F

Station: Ground Patrol

"Hey Munch!" Treecko called excitedly to her friend. "I'm not in a monster house and I'm going to be right outside the cave! Isn't that great? Where are you going to be, Munch?" Treecko looked down the wall for her friend. There were a significantly greater amount of Munchlax than Treecko in Mystery Jungle, so Treecko had to look awhile before finding her friend. Munch was still looking at the sheet on the wall. Thinking Munch was still searching for her name on the list, Treecko walked over to her. "Are you still looking for your name? Do you want me to help you look?" Munch didn't respond. Treecko noticed that her eyes weren't even moving. They were staring slightly downwards, fixed on something on the paper in front of her. With a growing sense of dread, Treecko followed Munch's unblinking gaze to her name. All at once, her fears came true.

Species: Munchlax

Level: 6

Name: Munch

Location: 7F

Station: Monster House


	2. Chapter 2

Treecko didn't know what to say. Words simply could not describe her sadness, her anger, her fear, and most of all, her rage. Munch was the one pokémon in all of Mystery Jungle, besides Treecko, who still seemed to have actually kept her personality in spite of Weavile taking over. Everyone else had adopted the same soldier-like formality, the same consistently hard, iced-over, glassy-eyed facade through which they viewed the world. Now, that was being taken away. There was no doubt about it. Being in a monster house would surely change Munch forever. Treecko was not about to let that happen.

"Hey! You two over there! Is there a problem?" Roserade's unnaturally high-pitched, voice grated through Treecko's ears like claws on slate. She tried to hide the tempest of emotions whirling through her by covering them over with what to any _normal_ pokémon would have been an insincere over-kill of respect.

"E- Excuse me? Madam Roserade? I- I don't think the position my friend was given would help her serve Master Weavile in the best way possible. Could that be changed?" Out of the corner of her eye, Treecko could still see Munch's terrified expression. Only now, it wasn't terror for being placed in a Monster House.

"So let me get this straight. _You_ are complaining about where _someone else_ was stationed, even though they are _nowhere near you_?" Roserade ground out, making a point of staring down at Treecko while she spoke. "Are you trying to change things around so you and your little friend can goof off while everyone else works?"

"N- No! That's not what I meant at all!" Treecko exclaimed, taking a step back. _Though if there's anyone here who would know about "goofing off while everyone else works", it would be be you, Roserade_, Treecko thought resentfully.

"What's going on over here?" A familiarly menacing voice rang out. Roserade whipped around.

"Oh! Master Weavile! I thought you had left already! Forgive me for not having reported to my post yet. I was just dealing with these two here. It seems _this_ one", she said, motioning to Treecko with a broad sweep of one of her bouquet-like hands, "finds it necessary to find fault in the placement of another. What is your verdict, Master Weavile?" Treecko couldn't stand it anymore. She was sick and tired of Weavile. She was sick and tired of Roserade. I was always "Master Weavile" this or "Madame Roserade" that. It was driving her up a wall. In the back of her mind, she could remember a story that she had been told. It was the story of how Shadaqua had fought for the better of everyone, even those she did not know, while still knowing the whole time that she would ultimately disappear. _Do what is best for the sake of your friends. Do not let them stand defenseless. _Treecko could have almost sworn she heard a voice in her head just then. She shook it away, but it's message had already embedded itself into her brain.

"IF SHE GETS PUT IN A MONSTER HOUSE, SHE WON'T COME OUT ALIVE!" Treecko suddenly practically screamed. She heard Munch gasp in fright, her eyes the size of oran berries.

"You will hold your tongue and wait to be spoken to when addressing Mas-"

"SHE ISN'T EVEN A LEVEL 10! SHE'S ONLY A LEVEL 6! IF YOU PUT HER IN A MONSTER HOUSE SHE'LL DIE!"

"I ORDER YOU TO BE SIL-"

"I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY HER!"

"SILENCE!" Weavile roared. "IF YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT YOUR FRIEND, THEN WHY DON'T YOU JOIN HER!" He lunged forwards and knocked Treecko sprawling with a devastating Night Slash. Munch rushed to her friend's side. "NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AND REPORT TO YOUR POSTS!" Weavile stalked off with Roserade following at his heels. The last thing Treecko saw before she fainted was Munch bending down to pick her up and carry her to their post at the 7F Monster House.


End file.
